


Good Directions

by what_a_gust



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, farmer tobin au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-16
Updated: 2020-02-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:36:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22760338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/what_a_gust/pseuds/what_a_gust
Summary: Sometimes a city girl knows more about tractors than a farmer might think (and sometimes that farmer knows better than to make snap judgements).
Relationships: Tobin Heath/Christen Press
Comments: 11
Kudos: 153





	Good Directions

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to whatname0523 and wnnbh12 for their inspiration, kind words, and reading it over.

“Everybody ready?” Alyssa asks as soon as Julie closes the passenger door. 

Christen nods, making eye contact with Alyssa in the rearview mirror and Sam lifts up her oversized sunglasses to wink at her suggestively, knowing it’ll make Alyssa blush. Alyssa pulls out of the underground parking garage, taking care to honk before turning onto the street. The four women drink their coffee in silence, glad that they got an early start to their day so that they can make the most of it but not quite ready to be social yet. 

Once they’re on the highway, Julie decides she’s had enough of the silence and grabs the aux cord from the center console so she can plug her phone in. She puts on her go-to country playlist and the rest of the girls groan immediately.

“C’mon you guys, don’t be buzzkills! We’re going  _ to the country _ . Admit it, it’s fitting!” Julie turns to look at Sam and Christen in the back seat and they both shrug before pulling out headphones of their own.

Julie rolls her eyes but gives in, “Fine, fine, I’ll change the music. But you owe me, all of you.”

The group of girls laugh as Julie starts their usual road trip playlist and Sam and Christen put their headphones away.

//

The landscape shifts as they drive. First from city to marshland, factories dissolving into shallow tide pools. And then from marshes to rolling pastures, the cattails fading into grassy fields.

About three quarters of the way through the two hour drive, Sam starts grumbling that she’s hungry which reminds Julie that she’s hungry. And when pressed, Christen says that she could probably eat. 

So, even though Alyssa’s cardinal rule of being the designated road trip driver is  _ no stopping on trips under three hours _ , she finds herself pulling into a gas station where they can load up on greasy breakfast sandwiches and burnt coffee.

Alyssa sends them in to get the food while she debates whether or not to bother getting gas. She still has most of a tank but it is much cheaper than she’s likely to find elsewhere and she’s always been a fan of a good bargain. The attendant comes over and asks which grade she wants so she tells him regular is fine and then gets out of the car to stretch her legs.

A few minutes later, Christen pops her head out to ask Alyssa if she’s sure she doesn’t want anything. She waves Christen off and turns back toward her car when she hears someone clear their throat. She looks to see who it is and a woman with wiry brown hair, who probably around her mother’s age, waves and smiles from the driver’s seat of a dirty pickup.

“Did you girls just stop here to get food?” the older woman asks as she pays the kid who’s pumping her gas.

“Uh, yeah, we’re headed to Rainbow Lake and they outvoted me so here we are,” Alyssa nods, not wanting to be rude.

The lady smiles as she clucks her tongue, “Well, that’s a shame. My family’s farm is just a mile down the road and I can more than guarantee that our snacks are better. If you’re not in a rush, we’d love to have you, it’s peak blueberry season and it’d be a shame to miss it.”

Alyssa can tell before the woman is even done speaking that there’s no way they’re getting out of following this woman back to her farm. She vaguely remembers seeing a sign for the Heath Family Farm when they pulled off the exit which she figures is the farm this woman is referring to. And her friends, who would never turn down more food, certainly aren’t going to argue. 

“Oh, um, yeah, that sounds great. I’m sure my friends will be out in a minute and then we’ll head over.”

The woman nods and then puts the truck in gear and pulls away, taking Alyssa at her word. 

Just as Alyssa is about to convince herself that there would be no real harm to not mentioning the exchange to her friends, she hears Christen’s voice call out, “What was that? Everything okay?”

“Yeah, we’re fine. She was just inviting us to her family’s farm. It’s the one right down the road.” Alyssa tries to play it off as nothing but Christen knows her too well for that.

“So, I’m guessing we’re about to make another stop aren’t we? Twice in one short trip, Naeher, you’ve lost your edge,” Christen teases as Sam and Julie make their way back to the car with their food.

Alyssa tries to glare at her but it instantly fades into a soft smile when she admits, “Hm, I guess I have.”

“Have what?” Sam asks excitedly, always wanting to know what’s going on.

Alyssa starts to speak but Christen quickly cuts her off, “Lost her tough and intimidating edge that keeps us from stopping on short road trips, and now we’re headed to the family farm down the road.”

//

There’s a big, old wooden sign painted white with red lettering that reads  **_Heath Family Farm_ ** _ \- Orchard and Market _ at the foot of a dirt road that leads up to a farmhouse that they can see peaking over the hill.

The car bumps off the pavement onto the driveway and a sense of excited anticipation fills the girls.

Alyssa pulls into what she determines to be a parking spot, despite there being no official marking to suggest that, and they clamber out of the car. Across the parking lot, which is really more of a small open field that’s partially covered in rough gravel, there’s a huge tractor with a pair of muddy boots sticking out from under the body. The girls notice but don’t think much of it and head into the store.

//

As soon as they push the door open, they’re met with a blast of cold air and the overwhelmingly sweet smell of ripe fruit. There are a few displays in the center of the room, mainly piles of blueberries and raspberries, peaches and apricots, and a bunch of different kinds of melon.

To the right, the display case along the wall is full of cheese and milk and the adjacent wall has shelves stacked with all sorts of baked goods.

At first, they only take one basket for the four of them; they realize quickly that they’re going to purchase far more than will fit in it, so Christen runs back and grabs them another one.

Twenty-five minutes later, they’ve done several laps around the store to make sure they haven’t missed anything they might want and they’ve overfilled both baskets. They take them up to the register and are shocked to find that everything costs less than $100, not that they’re complaining. They head back to the car, Sam already munching on a peach and Julie stuffing blueberries into her mouth.

As she pushes the trunk open to stow their goods, Christen glances across the parking lot and sees that the boots are no longer sticking out from under the tractor. Instead, the woman they’re attached to is bent over under the hood fiddling with something. Curiosity gets the better of her and she quickly puts everything away and closes the trunk. 

“Guys, I’ll be right back, I’m just gonna make sure she’s alright,” Christen gestures to tractor-woman.

Alyssa and Julie roll their eyes good-naturedly at Christen’s perpetual need to problem-solve. Sam, on the other hand, is not so subtle in her acknowledgement, choosing instead to whistle and then shout, “Get it, Pressy!” after Christen is already half-way across the lot.

Christen swings her arms back and gives Sam the finger while doing her best to not let herself get flustered.

When she’s just a few feet from the tractor, she clears her throat, not wanting to startle the woman she’s trying to check on. Unfortunately, it has the opposite effect and a loud thud is followed by a groan as the woman turns to face her, one hand feeling for a bump on her head and the other wiping the dust from her eyes.

Christen, of course, is quick to apologize, “Goodness! I am so sorry, I was really trying not to startle you! I just, um, was wondering if you needed any help. But it seems I’ve done more harm than good so I guess I’ll just be going.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it, I can be a bit oblivious sometimes. Honestly, I probably would’ve banged my head then even if you hadn’t come over. You said you think you can help…” she trails off, clearly fishing for Christen to introduce herself.

“Oh, yeah, I think so. And I’m Christen, by the way,” she offers her hand to the woman.

“Nice to meet you, Christen. I’m Tobin. What brings you out to the farm?” The woman,  _ Tobin _ , Christen reminds herself, has a warm smile that reaches her eyes when she mentions the farm.

Christen can’t help but smile back, “Oh, actually my friends and I are on our way to Rainbow Lake for the day and we stopped at a gas station down the road for snacks and some lady, who I guess is the owner maybe, told us to come here instead, so we did.” Christen shrugs with uncertainty, realizing all of a sudden how random  _ Tobin _ must find her presence, let alone her offer to help.

But instead of feeling awkward, Tobin just keeps smiling and it somehow puts Christen at ease, “I think that means you met my mom.”

Christen is utterly confused, “Your what? How?”

“My mom, Chris,” Tobin laughs, “Can I call you that? Anyway, this is our farm - the Heath family - it even says so on the sign!”

The connection finally dawns on Christen and she opens her mouth to respond but then closes it again, still thinking. “Wait, you definitely just gave me your first name!” Tobin laughs again but Christen carries on, “I couldn’t have known you were a Heath! As in Heath Family Farms!” She crosses her arms over her chest in denial.

Now Tobin is laughing gleefully, “Well, you got me there, but at least I got you first.”

Christen rolls her eyes and tries to tamp down the grin that she knows will inevitably spread across her face but it’s a losing battle and she knows Tobin can see that too.

Tobin’s laughter fades and there’s a beat of silence that verges on awkward. She gestures in the direction of the tractor, in what Christen assumes is an attempt at trying to remember what it was they were talking about before they got distracted by teasing. 

Christen takes pity on her and repeats, “I just came over to see if I could help, with the tractor, I mean. I may not look like it, but I’m pretty handy under a hood.”

Tobin has the good graces to disagree, “If by look, you mean your outfit, sure, other than that I don’t see why you couldn’t be as handy as the next gal.”

“Such a charmer,” Christen shakes her head at Tobin. “Wanna explain what’s going on or do you want me to guess based on looking?”

“Oh, I actually know what the problem is and it’s pretty much impossible to fix, unless you happen to be excellent at rewiring.”

Christen looks up at the sky and shakes her head.

“What?” Tobin asks, kind of confused.

It’s Christen’s turn to laugh at the look on Tobin’s face before answering, “It’s just that wires are actually, like, my best thing. I’m a civil engineer but my focus is on wiring buildings. And if I can wire a skyscraper, I’m sure I can wire a tractor.”

“And here I was thinking I was hot shit, a high school math teacher who helps my parents out over the summer for free instead of getting paid to SAT tutor like all my friends,” Tobin chuckles.

“Well, you may not be hot shit, but you’re definitely hot,” Christen winks as she steps around Tobin to take a seat in the tractor.

//

Christen has been tinkering with the ignition wires for almost 10 minutes when Tobin suggests they play a game. 

“I’m kinda busy here, Tobin. I can’t exactly focus and play a game at the same time. Also, I need something from my purse, can you go grab it from the car for me?” Christen looks up from what she’s doing.

“Oh, sure, what do you need? Maybe I have it on me?” Tobin asks, wondering what Christen could possibly need that isn’t in the toolkit on the ground between them.

“Tobin, just get my purse,” Christen prompts and Tobin walks off briskly.

She returns a few minutes later and hands the purse to Christen, “We can play the question game?”

“What’s that?” Christen asks, digging through her purse for the spacer she knows is in there somewhere.

“It’s exactly what it sounds like, Chris. We ask each other questions,” Tobin leans against the tractor so she can peer over Christen’s shoulder to get a peak at what she’s doing.

Christen shakes her head, guessing that Tobin made up that  _ game _ on her walk to the car and back, “Sure, Tobin, ask away.”

“Great! Okay, let me think…”

“You didn’t even have a question in mind! I’m disappointed in you, Tobin,” Christen teases as she peels back the plastic coating from the last of the wires she needs to expose, thinking that this woman she just met feels oddly familiar already.

Tobin shrugs and then taps her foot noisily on the ground to emphasize that she’s thinking before asking, “If you were a kitchen appliance, which would you be?”

Christen nods in acknowledgment but waits to respond until she’s down soldering the wires together, not wanting to risk damaging the diode because she was distracted. Once that’s done, she puts the wires back in place and says, “An espresso machine, I guess - slightly intimidating, looks more difficult than it is, and once you get to know it, everybody loves it?” 

“Hmm,” Tobin agrees, “I could see that, I’m not sure it counts since I don’t think most people have one but I’ll let it slide for the thought you put into extending the metaphor.”

“Oh, well, thank you for your graciousness, Tobin,” Christen makes it as obvious as she can that she’s being sarcastic as she slips the plastic cover back over the wires, “I think you should be good to go here, want to give it a try?”

“Uh, sure,” Tobin looks a little startled that Christen thinks she was able to fix the problem so quickly but agrees. 

Christen slides over to the passenger seat and Tobin climbs in next to her, leaning down to examine Christen’s handiwork, despite the fact that none of the wires are visible behind the plastic.

“Alrighty then, let’s give ‘er a whirl!” Tobin turns the key and the engine sputters to life before settling in a deep rumble. “Damn! You really did it! Not that I didn’t think you could, I mean, obviously I had faith in you, but still, super cool!”

“I’m glad to have been of assistance,” Christen pretends to tip an imaginary hat which, much to their surprise, makes Tobin giggle. They glance at each other as Tobin shifts the tractor into gear, both of them a little flushed.

Tobin clears her throat and then looks back at out at the parking lot, “I guess the time has come to return you to your vehicle.”

“Guess so, but you never said which kitchen appliance you would be,” Christen reminds her.

“Well, you never asked,” Tobin shrugs which makes Christen roll her eyes.

“If I had known you were this impossible, I never would’ve offered to help you! Just answer the question before we’re back at my car for God’s sake.” 

“Alright, fine, I’d be a refrigerator because I’m chill,” Tobin responds just as they near Christen’s waiting friends.

“Ugh, that’s an annoyingly good answer,” Christen admits as she hops out of the tractor. 

Tobin jumps down too and walks around to the front to meet her, “I don’t think I’ve said this yet but thank you so much for your help, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to fix it on my own. I know you guys checked out already but would you mind if I ran inside and got you a rain check for the next time you stop in?”

Christen can tell that Tobin isn’t going to take no for an answer so she nods her head in agreement and Tobin heads off toward the store.

//

“Pressy, spill!” Sam chides as soon as Tobin is out of earshot.

“What?” Christen tries to play it off, “there’s nothing to ‘spill.’ I just rewired the ignition for her. No big deal.”

“Oh come on, y’all were obviously flirting,” Julie chimes in as Sam and Alyssa roll their eyes.

Christen sighs and takes a deep breath, “Can we not? Please? She’ll be back in a second.”

Much to her surprise, her friends relent quickly. Julie and Sam babble on about the magazines they brought with them and Alyssa just leans back against the car and turns her face toward the sun.

A few moments later, Tobin is back with a slip of paper for Christen, “Thanks again for your help, I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day - maybe I’ll see you when you come back to use that,” she nods at the rain check.

“I certainly wouldn’t mind that,” Christen smiles as she tucks the slip into her wallet, taking care not to crumple it.

“Alright, cool,” Tobin smiles so wide that all her teeth are visible and it makes Christen smile wider too. She meets Tobin’s eyes and they crinkle in the most endearing way that makes her wonder if maybe there was something to her friends’ accusation that they were flirting.

She’s pulled from her thoughts by Alyssa clearing her throat, “Alright, Chris, we gotta get going if we want to spend any time at this lake at all,” she nods her head toward the car, signaling that Christen better get in quick.

“Oh, yeah, sure, have a good one, Tobin. See you soon,” Christen wipes her palms awkwardly on her shorts and steps back toward the car.

“See ya, Chris,” Tobin nods.

Christen and her friends pile into the car quickly and Alyssa does a once over to make sure they all have their seatbelts on before she starts the engine and shifts into reverse.

Tobin lifts her hands from where they were stuffed in her coverall pockets to wave them off as they pull down the driveway and back onto the road.

//

Another thirty minutes into the drive to the lake, Julie turns around from the passenger seat to ask, “Why is that we didn’t just go to the shore again? We would’ve been there already, right?”

“Because I like the trees, Jules. Plus, the salt water really messes with my hair,” Christen reminds her. “We’re almost there, like 10 more minutes on this road and then it’s only like two more turns. It’ll be worth it. And they have one of those rope swings I know you like.”

“I know, Chris, you’ve mentioned that like five times,” Julie laughs.

Christen giggles, “Yeah, I guess I have, I just want us all to have fun, ya know?”

“Chris, there’s no way we aren’t gonna have fun, it’s our Mandated Monthly Day of Fun and Relaxation, it’s not like we have a choice,” Alyssa adds in a way that is both sarcastic and reassuring.

//

Alyssa is right, they do have a fun and relaxing day. Once they unpack the car and spread out their beach blankets, she gets to do her crossword puzzle while Christen reads a book and Julie and Sam flip through magazines together. After an early afternoon nap, they make themselves a picnic with the goodies they bought at the Heath Family Farm after which they’re so full that they need to nap again. 

During the warmest part of the day, the sun high in the sky and beating down on them, they all take a dip in the cool and refreshing water of the lake. They float around on their backs for a while reminiscing about life before they became engineers who worked 60 to 80 hours most weeks.

Once their fingers and toes are all pruney, they return to the sand and read for a little while longer. The sun slips down behind the trees and the temperature starts to drop. Christen pulls on a sweater and tries to tough it out but a few minutes later she closes her book and stands up, “I’m calling it, time to go, if we leave now, we’ll have time to shower at home before dinner.”

“Aye aye, Captain,” Julie salutes and starts gathering her stuff to put it away. Before long, they’re back in the car and speeding back towards the city. Alyssa puts on NPR and the rest of them doze, sleepy from doing nothing out in the sun all day.

They don’t hit any traffic until they’re approaching the tunnel and all four women groan as the car comes to stop.

“And we were making such good time,” Alyssa shakes her head, disappointed. 

“It’s alright,” Sam chimes in, “just gives us more time to tease Pressy over her crush.” She pokes Christen in the side, laughing.

“Nooo,” Christen whines but it’s too little, too late.

“Better in the car where it’s just us than at dinner out in public,” Sam smirks at her. “Just admit it, you thought Farmer Tobin was hot and you’ve been trying to decide all day how long you have to wait to go spend that rain check not to look desperate. I know it. Lyss knows it. Jules knows it.”

Alyssa and Julie nod quickly and as much as she doesn’t want to, Christen acknowledges that they’re right, “Fine, she is very good looking. And we had a nice conversation. She seems fun and I wouldn’t be disappointed if she was there when I go back. Is that enough for you, you bitch.” She tries to glare at Sam but it quickly fades into a smile when she sees how widely Sam is smiling back at her. 

“Yes, Chris, that was perfect, thank you,” Sam puts her hands together like she’s praying, “you know how I love to be right, which is hard when you’re always around being right all the time. I cannot truly express how satisfying this is.”

Julie and Alyssa, and even Christen, laugh at Sam’s antics and they finally make it through the toll plaza into the tunnel.

//

As they leave the restaurant after dinner that evening, Sam pulls Christen aside before they head their separate ways.

“I know I was teasing you a lot earlier but I think you should get Tobin’s number when you go back to the farm. I haven’t seen you smile like you were with her in awhile, and you deserve to always be smiling like that, Chris.”

Christen wraps her arms around Sam’s shoulders, “Thanks for being a good friend, I’ll ask if I see her, promise,” she lets go of Sam and sticks out her pinky.

Sam hooks their pinkies together and nods, “Promise, I’ll hold you to it. G’night, hunny. Enjoy brunch with your sister tomorrow!”

“Night, Sam, see ya Monday,” Christen waves as she backs down the sidewalk in the direction of her apartment. 

She knows Sam is right, there’s no reason not to put herself out there with Tobin, the potential for negative consequences is so slim. But it’s still easier said than done. At least it seemed like Tobin was into her too. Maybe if she’s lucky Tobin will ask for her number, she smiles at the thought, that would be really nice.


End file.
